John Langoulant's brutal dissection of the way the Barnett government crippled WA's finances during the mining boom was a cautionary tale. Jacob Kagi looks at how the then-government's rhetoric was at odds with the underlying economics.

New figures show WA's deficit has almost halved in the first six months of the financial year, which Treasurer Ben Wyatt attributes to reining in health care costs and public service pay rises, as well as improved iron ore prices.

Premier Mark McGowan promises more open government in the wake of the Langoulant report, but won't reveal how much was paid for the Perth Stadium naming rights or the cost of Roger Federer's quokka selfie.

The Federal Government defends the increasing use of management consultants in the public service, after an audit shows the big four accounting firms won close to half-a-billion dollars in consultancy work over four years.

The SA Government is investing millions in ongoing residential and commercial care for hundreds of young people in the child protection system, but one support group says the focus should be on encouraging foster carers.

The MYEFO update sees the Government place lifetime limits on the amount students can borrow for university and a freeze on funding for the sector, something Universities Australia says will make getting into study much harder.

Capping funding for university places, lowering the threshold on HECS repayments and forcing new migrants to wait longer to get welfare payments are some of the measures unveiled by Treasurer Scott Morrison in his mid-year update.